Wine Cellar Floor

by Basement Wine Cellar Guy on April 24, 2009

The floor of a wine cellar is important for a few reasons.

First, the floor supports the weight of your entire wine cellar collection, so it must be very strong. That’s an obvious reason why wine cellars are built in the basement; you have no worries about the floor collapsing under the weight of 1,000 bottles of wine.

Second, the ground cools in the winter and warms in the summer, so both cold and heat can be transmitted through the floor into the wine cellar if it isn’t properly insulated. You can read my post on wine cellar floor insulation to see how I insulated the floor.

Finally, you will actually see the floor, so it’s important to make it aesthetically pleasing. I have previously commented that it doesn’t really matter what the walls look like, since they will be covered with wine racks. Obviously the floor won’t be covered with anything, so it’s important that it is visually appealing.

We started by framing the floor and insulating it.

Floor Insulation

Then the floor studs are covered in 3/4 inch plywood for strength.

floor plywood

Then a wire mesh base is installed over the plywood, and the a “cement” base is installed over the mesh.

wine cellar floor base

Then, the floor tile is installed.

wine cellar floor tile

As you can see from the picture we chose a dark slate type tile. It does have some texture, but it is flat enough that the wine racks won’t wobble when installed.

In my next post I’ll show you the finished product.

Tagged as:

{ 0 comments }

Paint and the Wine Cellar

by Basement Wine Cellar Guy on April 9, 2009

Now that the green board is up the next step is easy: paint. Even though it’s an easy step, there are differing opinions on wall coverings.

One school of thought is that this is an opportunity to add a distinctive flair to the wine cellar by using textured finishes and other fancy wall treatments. I am of the view that that’s silly.

I opted for the simplest solution of all: latex paint. I always use good quality paint, since I have no desire to ever need to repaint the walls again, but even if you buy the top of the line paint, to paint a wine cellar will cost less than $100, so get good paint and don’t worry about it.

wine cellar wall paintAs you can see by the picture, it’s painted walls in a neutral shade. I guarantee that this is the most boring picture on this web site, and that’s my point. It’s a painted wall. Nothing fancy, just a wall. Don’t over think it.

The main reason for not getting fancy on the walls is that no-one will ever see the walls. They will be covered with the wine racks, so don’t get fancy. Paint it, and forget it.

One final comment: even latex paint smells, and it needs time to dry. Since a wine cellar is a closed room, there is no place for the smell to go. So, once you have finished painting, use a fan to circulate the air, and keep the door open for a few days to dissipate the smell. Don’t plan on painting one day and installing your racks the next day.

Tagged as:

{ 0 comments }

Drywall or Green Board?

by Basement Wine Cellar Guy on March 27, 2009

After framing and insulating the wine cellar walls, the next step is installing the drywall, and that’s where the story gets interesting.

There is considerable debate over the materials to use for the walls. There are three obvious options:

First, use normal drywall. It’s inexpensive and readily available. However, it’s not a great material when their is moisture in a humid wine cellar. Of course the drywall is painted, and if the wine cellar is properly insulated and cooled there should not be water dripping down the walls, so normal drywall should be sufficient.

The second option is to use “green board”, which is the material used is damp environments, such as a bathroom or kitchen. It is resistant to moisture. More specifically, green board doesn’t encourage the growth of mold and mildew as you may find in standard drywall. On the down side, it’s more expensive than standard drywall.

The third option is to use a fiberglass based board, which is now used for areas like showers where you expect water to hit the walls. This is the most expensive option.

After much consideration, we decided to go with option #2, green board. It’s not that much more expensive than drywall, and it does offer some additional protection against mold and mildew. We decided that option #3 was overkill. In a properly insulated and cooled wine cellar there will not be excess humidity and moisture, so this should be the most cost effective solution.

drywall1

The interesting part, however, was that our contractor forgot the discussion about green board, and as you can see from the picture, he installed normal drywall. I didn’t notice this until the next morning, when I asked him about it.

He thought about it briefly, and told me that he didn’t think there would be a problem with the normal drywall. I agreed, but I said that I would prefer the green board option.

So, with no further discussion, he had his guys rip out the drywall and install the green board.

green board

Fortunately his guys are quick and efficient, so replacing the old with the new was a two hour task. I guess it helps if you know what you are doing (and fortunately only one round of tapping and mudding had been completed).

So, after some hiccups, I am now the proud owner of a green boarded basement wine cellar.

Tagged as: ,

{ 0 comments }

Wine Cellar Floor Insulation

by Basement Wine Cellar Guy on March 20, 2009

In my last post I discussed spray foam insulation in the walls and ceiling. The same technique was used for the floor. Here’s what the floor looked like after framing but before the insulation was applied:

Framing Wine Cellar Floor

Here’s the floor after applying the insulation:

Floor Insulation

Yes, it looks just like the walls look. The foam insulation does dry solid, but it is full of tiny air pockets, so you don’t want to walk on it, since you will likely compress the air pockets and lower the insulation value. That’s why we applied the plywood floor as soon as possible:

floor plywood

Yes, this picture also shows the drywall on the walls, but that’s the subject of my next post.

Tagged as: ,

{ 2 comments }

Spray Foam Insulation

by Basement Wine Cellar Guy on March 13, 2009

Now that the framing is done, it’s time for the insulation. Insulation is critical, since the goal is to maintain a constant temperature in the basement wine cellar. The better the insulation, the less variation in temperature, and therefore the less effort required by the cooling unit to keep the wine cellar at a constant temperature.

There are many different opinions on the proper insulation technique. One school of thought says that you should install a vapor barrier (a plastic sheet) on the outer side of the wall, and then mount your fiberglass insulation, and then your walls. A vapor barrier is essential to keep moisture from forming in the wine cellar or behind the walls.

We decided to use a different approach: spray foam insulation. The insulation is applied as a liquid, and expands as a foam, and then hardens as a “solid”. Our contractor blew the the foam into place, smoothed it out, and let it harden.

spray foam insulation

This approach has a number of advantages.

First, it’s relatively quick. The entire job can be done easily in half a day. If you were to install a plastic vapor barrier, then cut and install fiberglass insulation, and fasten it into place, the job would take much longer. You may be able to simply push the fiberglass into place in the walls, but gravity won’t allow you to do that in the ceiling; fastening is necessary. With spray foam, it’s quick and it’s done. Here’s how it looks in the ceiling.

Foam Insulation Ceiling

Second, since the foam dries hard, there is no need for a separate vapor barrier. Fiberglass insulation will retain water if it gets wet, so a vapor barrier is essential. With “solid” insulation, water cannot penetrate, so a separate vapor barrier is not necessary.

Finally, as you can see with the ceiling picture, foam is great for filling in every “nook and cranny” in a ceiling or wall with wires, pipes and other impediments. Fiberglass insulation will not fit as tightly.

Therefore, my vote is for spray foam insulation.

Tagged as:

{ 1 comment }

Wine Cellar Ceiling

by Basement Wine Cellar Guy on March 6, 2009

In my previous posts I discussed the framing of the wine cellar walls and framing the wine cellar floor, but I have not mentioned framing the ceiling. I have not mentioned it because in my construction I am converting a room in the basement, so there is already a ceiling (the floor of the upper floor).

Wine Cellar Ceiling

Framing is not necessary, since the floor joists that hold up the upper floor will serve as the area to attach the drywall, and to put the insulation.

As you can see from this picture, our house has various electrical wires, gas lines and plumbing running through the joists. It is necessary to review what’s there, and determine if anything needs to be moved before you proceed. In our case it was possible to frame around everything, so no major moving was necessary.

One final question to ask yourself: Will I ever need to access this area, or run additional wires? In the picture you can see four grey cables taped in a bundle; those are the cables from our television satellite dish. Once the ceiling is constructed, they will be inaccessible. If you think you will ever need to run wires through the ceiling in the future, you could consider running a conduit through the ceiling before you close it.

A conduit is simply empty plastic pipe, open at both ends, so that you can easily run wires through it. I suggest running rope from one end of the conduit to the other, so that you can pull your wires through it in the future. In our case it wasn’t necessary.

Tagged as:

{ 2 comments }

Framing the Wine Cellar Floor

by Basement Wine Cellar Guy on February 27, 2009

As the framing of the wine cellar walls was completed, framing was also done on the wine cellar floor. Why frame the floor as well? The entire wine cellar must be a completely enclosed room.

Framing and insulating the walls and ceiling is a good start, but if the wine cellar has as it’s base an uninsulated basement floor, the cold from the ground will gradually enter the wine cellar, so that the floor is much colder than the ceiling, and that’s not good. Obviously moisture can also enter from the ground. We framed the floor using the same method as used for framing the walls.

Framing Wine Cellar Floor

You may wonder why the wine cellars of 200 years ago could be constructed without the elaborate need for framing and insulation, including insulating the floor. Insulation would not be necessary if the wine cellar was built well below the frost line, where temperatures remain constant. In southern Ontario and the north eastern United States the ground may freeze to a depth of two or three feet in the winter, so the ceiling of an uninsulated wine cellar would need to be at least five feet underground, so the floor of the wine cellar would be 12 to 15 feet underground.

A typical basement in a typical house has windows at around ground level, so the floor of a typical basement may be only five or six feet underground, so most of the basement is at or near the frost line. If left uninsulated temperatures will vary considerably, and that’s not good. Therefore, insulation is essential, and to insulate, framing it a must.

Tagged as:

{ 0 comments }

Framing the Wine Cellar Walls

by Basement Wine Cellar Guy on February 20, 2009

Once we decided on the dimensions for the wine cellar, the next step was to get started. We took an existing basement room and gutted it. Then, the next step is to frame the walls and floor.

Framing is a relatively straight forward task. A frame is built (we used 2 x 4′s) to serve two functions: it will hold the drywall, and it will hold the insulation. Here’s how the wall looks after framing:

Framing Wine Cellar Exterior Wall

You will notice that the framing is applied directly to the exterior basement wall. We have not installed any vapor barrier. More about that to in subsequent posts.

The existing interior wall is also framed (it already existed; we simply removed the existing drywall):

Framing Interior Wine Cellar Wall

Tagged as:

{ 0 comments }

Wine Cellar Dimensions

by Basement Wine Cellar Guy on February 12, 2009

In my last post I discussed wine cellar dimensions, and answered the question: How big should I build my wine cellar? We discussed the factors to consider, including your budget, space availability, and expected storage needs. So, how big did I go?

I decided on a basement wine cellar measuring approximately 10 feet by 7 feet. It was an easy decision, because we took an existing closet and converted it into a wine cellar, so the size was pre-determined.

wine-cellar-dimensions

Our basement has a support beam, so the left hand side of the wine cellar in the above diagram has a height of six feet; the rest of the cellar is just over seven feet tall. Racking will go around the walls, except of course where the door will go. The cooling unit also reduces racking space, which we will discuss once that is installed. The racking is not here yet, but I expect to be able to store around 1,200 bottles on the exterior walls, which should be more than sufficient for my needs.

Tagged as:

{ 0 comments }

How big should I build my wine cellar?

by Basement Wine Cellar Guy on February 6, 2009

Once the decision is made to build a basement wine cellar, and once you have decided on the perfect basement wine cellar location, the next decision is: how big? Of course we all know that “bigger is better”, but with wine cellars that is not always the case.

The bigger the wine cellar, the larger the cost, for construction, racking, and operating costs (since it costs more to cool a large space than a small space). To determine the perfect size, consider three factors:

1 Your budget. What can you afford? If you only have a few hundred dollars to spend, you will be doing all of the work yourself, and your wine cellar will be passively cooled, since you probably can’t afford a cooling unit. Your best option may be to buy a stand-alone wine fridge or cooler. The larger your budget, the larger your cellar. Start by adding up the costs for the cooling unit, racking, and construction costs, and then set your budget based on what you can afford.

2 Available space. If you are converting a corner of your basement, the size decision may already be made for you. If you are building a new house or building, you have more flexibility in deciding on your wine cellar dimensions.

3 Your expected storage needs. How much wine do you expect to consume? How long do you expect to store your wine? If you consume, on average, 100 bottles per year, and you want to store your wine for an average of five years, a 500 bottle wine cellar is sufficient. If you consume more than that, or if you want to have bottles laying down for a longer time, you will need more space. Start by determining your consumption over the last year, and use that as a guide for projecting future requirements. If at most you need storage for 1,000 bottles, there is nothing to be gained by building a 5,000 bottle cellar.

It is important to realize that too big is as bad as too small. Even if you have unlimited money, building a 5,000 bottle capacity wine cellar to house 1,000 is not wise. The cooling unit will be most efficient if the wine cellar is close to full. Each full bottle holds the temperature, so the more bottles, the more consistent the temperature. (It is easier to keep your refrigerator temperature consistent if it’s full of food; and empty refrigerator is not energy efficient).

Of course building a 500 bottle cellar only to realize you need a 2,000 bottle capacity is also inefficient, since you will need to demolish and start again, which is costly.

So, before you start construction, estimate your needs, and your space availability and budget, and plan accordingly.

Tagged as:

{ 0 comments }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →